Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation Parent Guide

The lack of sexual content and relatively few profanities are a welcome change in this genre, making "Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation" a movie for teens and adults to enjoy together.

In this fifth installment of the popular franchise, Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) assembles his team (Jeremy Renner, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg) in an effort to track down a rogue syndicate intent on destroying the IMF - the secrecy agency they represent.

Parent Movie Reviewby Rod Gustafson

In my opinion the Mission: Impossible franchise has been an undeserved underperformer at the box office. The series got off to a rough start nearly two decades ago, but the films have improved in both writing, on screen chemistry, and a diminishing amount of profanities and sexual content. Fortunately Rouge Nation continues this trend.

In the movie’s opening minutes, Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his IMF team, William Brandt, Benji Dunn and Luther Stickell (Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames), are doing their thing and saving the world from bad guys. It begins with a heart-stopping stunt (which, the studio claims, Cruise performed himself) where Hunt hangs from the side of an airplane during liftoff. But back at headquarters in Washington DC, the under-under-cover IMF organization is about to be chloroformed by Alan Hunley (Alec Baldwin). The bureaucrat is convinced the group’s main foe, the even more illusive Syndicate, doesn’t exist. His solution is to hand over what assets the IMF has to the CIA.

When the guys get their pink slips, they reluctantly assume new positions with the CIA. However Hunt, who is actively running for his life after being targeted by the Syndicate’s leader (Sean Harris), isn’t willing to accept his change of employment without a fight. Receiving the news in a London phone booth, he disappears into the underworld, determined still to bring down the enemy. His only leads are an opera performance in Vienna, and the surprisingly skilled Ilsa (Rebecca Ferguson), a woman who may be a femme fatale or a femme fantastique.

Seeing as the IMF is unplugged, it’s uncertain whose credit card is being billed for trips to Austria and Morocco. Nevertheless, our hero is fully engaged and we get to come along for the wild ride of car and motorcycle chases, back stage combat and underwater maneuvers. Hunt and with his personable team (who eventually manage to break away from their desk jobs to join him), offer solutions to every challenge – as well as a good dose of humor.

Frequent conflicts with guns, knives, bombs and fists will result in violence. Yet considering the number of on-screen shootings and stabbings, little blood or other detail is seen. And, in this era of terrorism, Hunt’s character is willing to doggedly fight for liberty—even when his country has disowned him. Further, unlike so many other spy protagonists, Hunt works with women, not on them. With a script full of male characters, our sole female offers agility and brains as her greatest assets—although they still fit in a bikini. (Cruise also manages to get his shirt off within minutes of the movie’s opening.)

The lack of sexual content and relatively few profanities (you’ll still hear a handful of scatological terms and other mild swears) are a welcome change in this genre, making Mission: Impossible - Rouge Nation a possibility for teens and adults to enjoy together.

About author

Rod Gustafson has worked in various media industries since 1977. He founded Parent Previews in 1993, and today continues to write and broadcast the reviews in newspapers, on radio and (of course) on the Internet. His efforts also include writing and researching media in all its forms and observing how it effects society and culture. He and his wife Donna have four children.

Mission: Impossible - Rogue NationRating & Content Info

Violence:
Action sequences, violent altercations, weapon use and gunfire exchanges are pervasive through out the movie. Characters are frequently in perilous situations, including hanging from planes, running from enemies, trapped underwater, and dangling from high places. Car bombs and other explosions kill people and cause property damage. Hand-to-hand combat results in deaths and injuries, with some bloody wounds shown. Car and motorcycle chases also result in injuries and deaths (one man is shown on fire). Detailed motor vehicle accidents are depicted. Some characters are shot on screen; others are knifed, bound, beaten and gassed. Characters are threatened with torture: injectable drugs as well as a suitcase full of saws and hammers intended for that purpose are shown. A brief segment from a violent video game is seen. Terrorist acts are discussed, including the loss of civilian lives. Characters are taken hostage and one has a bomb strapped to his body. Drugs are used to subdue and get information form characters.

Sexual Content:
Female characters are seen in revealing clothes, and one in a bikini. A woman undresses and her naked back is shown. A shirtless man is seen.

Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation Parents' Guide

Note:Mission Impossible Rogue Nations is also known as Mission Impossible 5.

Talk about the movie with your family…

The villain in this script observes that Ethan is concerned about protecting people. When does Ethan demonstrate this “weakness”? When is this noble trait totally ignored in favor of the action of the plot? What fault of human nature does Ethan point out in the villain? How does anyone decide what causes are worth risking lives and fighting for?

How does the choice of antagonists determine the marketing potential of a movie? Does the “bad guy” in this film represent a particular country? How has Hollywood’s depiction of antagonists changed over the past few years? How may this be influenced by the US film industry’s desire to market movies to more countries?

Home Video

The most recent home video release of Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation movie is December 15, 2015. Here are some details…